Though This Be Madness
by Mir Queen
Summary: Felicity begins receiving Hanukkah gifts from a secret admirer, each gift even more of a mystery than the previous one. Suspicions build in her mind, but when the final day arrives, Felicity meets her mystery giver at last.
1. Chapter 1: Distraction

Disclaimer: _I do not own nor make any profit off of Arrow. It belongs to The CW, DC Comics, etc._

A/N: Holiday Exchange Fic based on the prompt by anextraordinarymuse. A few might recognize this story from my Arrow tumblr blog: _HoodSmoaked_.

**Chapter 1: Distraction**

* * *

The first day of Hanukkah began quite innocuously, it must be said.

Now, Felicity Smoak was not prone to reverse psychological omens. Nor did she have any notion that psychology and omens were a logical mix. Well, she didn't believe in omens in general, to be honest. If someone felt something bad was going to happen, it was one of three things: an expectation due to negative emotion, basis from previous experience, or intuitive understanding of one's environment at the moment.

Regardless, the day moved along with suspicious quiet for a woman who spent her days as Oliver Queen's executive assistant and her nights as one of the Arrow's crime-fighting partners.

Felicity had felt a sense of disquiet from the moment she woke. Expectation, she guessed, since she already knew there would be no one to spend the holiday with and wasn't looking forward to the alone time.

Sighing as her watch alarm signaled the hour she usually spent eating dinner, the IT expert stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hall towards the office space she shared with Oliver.

The unfortunate business of leaving papers for Isabel Rochev to sign had been left in Felicity's hands approximately thirty minutes earlier. While she had been forced to grin and bear it through the woman's smug and icy demeanor, the signing had been fairly quick. Now dinner was upon her, but given the amount of work piled up between she and Oliver, the likely meal of choice was whatever takeout Oliver ordered for them over the phone.

Felicity reached up to rub her forehead wearily as she moved over to her desk. Looking towards her friend and employer's office area, she was a bit surprised to find his desk empty. Frowning a little, Felicity turned to check with Digg, but he was gone as well.

Shaking off the odd, albeit not necessarily unpleasant, feeling that passed over her, Felicity sat down at her desk to wait out her friends.

A glint of light caught her eye as she pulled out her tablet, the shiny reflection pulling her gaze to a package that had definitely not been present before she left. Curious and confused, Felicity set down her tablet and picked up the item covered in dark, metallic pink wrapping paper and a curly silver bow.

She was struck by the familiar shape underneath, and finally realized it reminded her of a typical Valentine's Day candy box. Groaning, Felicity nearly dropped the package in the garbage can. Instead, out of some strange sense of politeness, she dropped it back on her desk.

It was nothing special. Just the typical, unimaginative secret admirer she had always been prey to. Some strange person expecting a flirt with a 'pretty blonde' and a quick goodbye, no strings attached. It usually led to her leaving a nice meal at a nice restaurant because her 'admirer' had revealed seedy intentions and left her feeling either irritated or disgusted (or both).

Once, and only once, had she gained a genuine admirer, someone who was actually looking to try and start a relationship. It was her babbling tendencies which had driven that one away. After that, Felicity gave up. For the last few years, she had avoided dating and admirers with a passion. It never paid off. Not for her.

Another shimmer unwittingly drew her attention right back to the package, however — this time to a much smaller item. Hanging off the silvery strings of the bow was a little square tag to match the wrapping paper. Felicity reluctantly checked to make sure it wasn't a gift from Diggle and Lyla. Or perhaps Barry. Barry seemed the type to send cheesy little gifts like that. Snorting a bit at the thought, the blonde flipped the pink card to reveal two simple sentences printed on it.

_~Because chocolates are so last year. Happy Hanukkah!~_

Well… they paid attention, anyway. Whoever they were…

Biting her lip, Felicity considered the few people at Queen Consolidated who knew about her Jewish faith. Four of them were in the IT department and already engrossed in a relationship, from what she knew, as well as not being the kind of people to search for diversions. The fifth was Andrew Kaufman from Human Resources; he was single, but he also had a thing for tall redheads. The last who knew, Isaac Templeton from marketing, was about as romantically inclined as a brick of ice. Not a bad guy as far as workplace ethic was concerned, but he made it clear that mundane entanglements were beneath him.

That left someone to search out information from her files without permission, or to ask around about her. The first seemed creepy. The second didn't seem reliable, but at least it was more normal.

But why would they tell her what was in the package before she ever opened it? Disregarding the fact she knew the shape of most candy boxes as well as her own finger nails, obviously her admirer didn't and they wrapped it to surprise her. So why tell her it contained chocolates? It was a strange thing to do, all things considered…

"Felicity!"

Startled by the sound of Diggle's worried voice, Felicity jumped and whipped around to face him with wide eyes.

"Yes?" she asked, almost gulping at the concern in his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, brows lifting in question "It took four tries to get your attention."

"Sorry, I was… distracted," she shrugged sheepishly, debating whether or not to tell him what had diverted her focus.

"If you don't mind me asking…" he pressed, looking unconvinced and dropping his jacket over one of the chairs in front of her desk. "What by?"

"Um…" Felicity hesitated a moment, but threw caution to the wind. "Well, okay… I got back and noticed you guys were gone, and of course that confused me because Oliver had just started on a complicated contract when I left and then suddenly he's gone. I mean, yeah, I was gone thirty minutes, but I know that contract would have taken a lot longer to go through. And Oliver hates paperwork so much, it always takes him even longer than most businessmen. Not that he's actually a businessman. I mean— What I mean is that business isn't his main prerogative in life, technically speaking. I wasn't saying that he _isn't_ a businessman, obviously he's the CEO of Queen Consolidated and that includes a lot of businessy stuff—"

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Oliver's voice rang out amusedly from the hallway as the man himself strode into the office with his typical confidence and grace. He came to a stop in front of her desk, laughter twinkling in his blue eyes. Felicity flushed from her blond head to her violet-painted toes.

"I mean _actual_ businessy stuff. Not… _that_ kind of… businessy… stuff…" she replied haltingly, cursing her pale face for blushing in the face of her boss' barely-there-smirk.

"And will you stop talking as though you're so old?" she continued, averting her eyes from his and trying desperately to get out of the ditch she was digging. "You're only three years older than me. It makes me feel ancient… Well, actually,_ I_ would have to be the 'old' one and _you_ would have to be the 'ancient' one. Because you're older than I am, so you would require the 'older' age adjective and… whyyyy do you never stop me from talking?"

The billionaire chuckled with Diggle as Felicity literally clamped her lips shut between her teeth.

"I do," Oliver answered easily, that pleasant smirk still on his face. "When we're pressed for time. Otherwise, it's just a part of your natural charm."

"Are you saying that you use me for your own entertainment?" the blonde asked thoughtlessly, and immediately wished she could bury herself ten feet under. In lieu of that option, she buried her face in her hands so closely that her next words were muffled, "That was so not what I meant."

Oliver actually snorted this time, but he let her off the hook. "John was kind enough to pick up our takeout."

"And with that job done, I'm going to call it a night," Diggle added, tapping the bag of takeout for emphasis. "I have to go change and pick up Lyla."

"Taking the lovely lady for a fancy dinner?" Felicity teased, smiling at the happiness in his eyes when he talked about his ex-wife-turned-girlfriend.

"Not really," he countered awkwardly, actually tugging on his tie. "We're meeting with Carly at Big Belly."

"Uh… that's… nice?" Oliver interceded, obviously uncertain if it was truly nice or not. Felicity shared an awkward look with him, equally confused by this meeting of the exes.

"Kind of," John sighed, half-laughing at their expressions as he pulled on his suit jacket. "Carly and I agreed I should give her some distance. But A.J. has been asking about me and… well, without Andy there, kid needs a father figure."

"Why do I have the oddest feeling Lyla is behind all this?" Felicity wondered without any doubt, giving Diggle a look.

"Because you'd be _right_." the bodyguard confirmed, laughing as he headed out. "See you both tomorrow. And don't think I've forgotten about your distraction, Felicity!"

"Goodbye, John," Felicity said firmly, having absolutely no intention of telling him where Oliver could hear.

The billionaire in question gave her a suspicious glance, but called out his own farewell with congenial cheer, "See you, Digg."

Silence fell until the elevator doors closed behind Diggle with a 'ding' of warning.

"Distraction?" Oliver asked after a beat, turning to Felicity with curiosity.

"Oh, just you two disappearing on me," she answered fairly easily, hoping he would just let it go.

"Uh-huh…" Oliver replied doubtfully, but followed the change in topic admirably. "Sorry about that. I had to see Timothy Brent in finance before he left tonight."

"Oh," Felicity said simply.

"I guess I'd better get back to that contract," Oliver returned with false pep and took out his food container and silverware, but just as he turned to go, his eyes caught on Felicity's pink present. Cursing the man's keen vision, the blonde tried to look nonchalant about it. Oliver scratched his stubble thoughtfully as he continued, "That… um… wouldn't be the distraction… would it now, Felicity?"

"Fine," she retorted a bit shortly. "It is. Now, go back to your contract."

Smirking slightly, Oliver took the hint and walked to his own desk.

Only once ensuring he was safely engrossed in reading the contract at hand did Felicity finally, with a bit of reluctance, open the box of chocolates she had been given.

Only it wasn't chocolates she found in the box.

It was coconut macaroons.

* * *

A/N: To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2: Excitement

Disclaimer: _I do not own nor make any profit off of Arrow. It belongs to The CW, DC Comics, etc._

A/N: Olicity Holiday Exchange Fic for anextraordinarymuse!

**Chapter 2: Excitement**

* * *

After Felicity's little gift arrival the previous evening, and the 'distraction' it temporarily presented, Oliver didn't inquire further along the holiday vein. Which was fine with Felicity after how silly it had all been.

It wasn't that she minded getting unusual treats occasionally (and she had certainly indulged in a few macaroons after eating the takeout Oliver had ordered), but it was an odd present. Not many men would think of something so specific for a woman they had yet to get to know.

Pushing the matter from her mind, Felicity moved towards her desk to begin the second day of Hanukkah with gritted determination not to let anything spoil her relatively good mood.

It didn't take much to notice another shiny present sitting beside her tablet, this one wrapped in metallic lime green, and sized not much larger than the package of macaroons. It was definitely a perfectly square box, however, so sweets were the last thing she expected when she opened it. Firm in the knowledge that Oliver wasn't going to be in the office for another half-hour, the IT expert more happily opened the second gift from her secret admirer.

To be fair, Felicity's expectations were probably too high, but the obvious top of a travel mug disappointed her more than she thought it could have. Frowning a bit, the blonde checked the tag, and sure enough there was something typed on it.

_~Here's hoping your coffeemaker isn't broken.~_

Laughing quietly to herself, Felicity decided the tag was worth the disappointment of a simple coffee mug. If a guy had the knowledge that Felicity violently smashed a coffeemaker, and he still wanted to know her, he probably was a keeper. Smiling, Felicity pulled the mug from its wrappings and gasped through another laugh.

There was a panda on the front of the mug.

Someone had paid attention to her shoes the previous year, it seemed. That left a lot of options open as to who the admirer was, and Felicity felt a little giddy at the idea. Her chances with admirers seemed to be looking up this season.

The elevator dinged, and Felicity hurriedly put away her gift. For some reason it seemed a little embarrassing to let her two crime-fighting partners see. At least until she knew who her admirer was.

It was that thought which propelled Felicity through each new, secret gift as the days of Hanukkah went on.

On the third day at lunch time, there was a slightly larger gift wrapped in royal purple. The matching tag was as inscrutable and cute as the previous two.

_~Careful not to spill it on your laptop.~_

Suppressing a smile with admirable fortitude over the admirer's mix-up of tablet and laptop, Felicity opened her present as quietly as possible while Oliver met with two members of the human resources department. Fit to simmer in her brand new travel mug was a bag of gourmet coffee grounds of her favorite flavor. Another pile of wrapping and another gift slipped into the disused drawer of her desk, and Felicity set about to work as normal, hardly able to contain her excitement at this strange turn of events.

The fourth day's present was small, wrapped in glittering white paper, and the tag was shorter than any so far.

_~No cheating.~_

Confused, but humored, Felicity pulled off the wrapping to reveal a pack of playing cards. Brows lifting to an exponentially high degree, the blonde realized immediately who her admirer had to be. There were very few people who knew of her 'cheating' ability with cards, and this particular one had been entirely by accident in a babbling fit. Giggling suddenly, the IT expert debated sending a text to a certain scientist in Central City, but finally decided against it. When he wanted to reveal himself, he would, and she was ready to wait.

Come the fifth day of Hanukkah at dinner time, Felicity found a silver-wrapped gift waiting on her desk.

_~Hope for the hopeful.~_

Curious, the blonde peeled away paper and tissue to reveal a black velvet box. Inadvertently releasing a little 'ooh' of surprise, Felicity lifted out two feather-shaped silver earrings, the studs and ends popped with perfect little emeralds. They were incredibly lovely, and the tag now made sense; emeralds were a symbol of hope, if she remembered correctly.

Touched by this step up in gift-giving surprises, Felicity gently laid the earrings back in their case and carefully stowed it in her purse just before Oliver exited the elevator.

The following day just after lunch ended, a courier came to the office with a larger package than any Felicity had yet received. Thankfully, Oliver and Diggle were stuck in traffic on the way back from lunch with Thea and Moira. Felicity had yet to tell them of Barry's adorable gestures and had no plans to do so until Barry revealed himself, if then. Smiling once again over the scientist's sweet little gifts, Felicity checked the tag.

_~Baby it's cold outside… and your earrings match.~_

To Felicity's confusion, this sixth gift was a pair of leg warmers that matched the dark green wrapping paper and, yes, the emeralds of her new earrings. Strange, but then again Barry had done nothing common or typical for his gifts. Everything so far had been unusual, obscure, or something Felicity had mentioned to him only once or twice in passing. Leg warmers were the last of the three options, as were the incidents of the coffeemaker, the playing cards, and the panda shoes. The IT expert really couldn't wait to hear Barry's funny reasoning for his choice of presents; it was bound to be a ramble of bumbling amiability.

Hanukkah's seventh day came awake with bitter cold temperatures and high winds, and Felicity found herself wishing she could have worn the seemingly-odd gift of green leg warmers that morning. But she didn't and she couldn't, so that was that.

Warmth had finally begun to seep back into Felicity's bones as she entered the office at last, and she warmed up even further with excitement when she saw a gold package waiting on her desk chair.

Giddy as a child, the blonde excitedly read the matching tag.

_~Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.~_

Shakespeare? _Hamlet_, even?

Well, that was reaching for a whole new level of strange, even for Barry. Brows furrowed, Felicity tried to remember a moment when she had told the equally awkward forensic assistant about her love of Shakespeare.

She couldn't remember a time when she had done so, but that didn't mean she never had. Sometimes her babbles got away with her, after all. Shrugging it off, Felicity almost put the book away, when something slipped out of it and onto the smooth floor. Bending down, the IT expert was surprised and delighted to find a printed map had fallen out.

There was no restaurant shown. The marked location was actually on the outskirts of the city. Whether or not the map was even intended for Felicity was uncertain.

At least until she caught sight of the tag attached to the bottom right corner.

_~Ten o'clock tomorrow night. Leg warmers might come in handy.~_

Reassured, Felicity began to smile all over again. This would certainly be a holiday to remember.

The last day of Hanukkah dawned just as cold and windy as the day before, and Felicity wished for the second time that she could wear her new leg warmers to work.

In spite of the cold, however, the blonde felt warmer on the inside that she had in a long while. This was the day Barry would reveal himself as her gift-giver, and Felicity fully expected a date out of the whole experience. Not because she felt cocky about her chances, but because every indicator pointed in that direction.

Felicity's position as Oliver's executive assistant never seemed so pleasant as it did that day, and by the time work ended that night, Felicity barely said a goodbye to Oliver and Diggle as she ran off to the elevator, immediately going home to change into a brand new outfit she bought just the previous evening.

Dressed in her outfit of black velvet leggings and a dark green sweater dress, Felicity happily added her new leg warmers, a pair of black ankle boots, and her beautiful new earrings. After the past several months of straightening her hair, the blonde decided to curl it, swiping the long curls off to one side as she once did on the casino mission with Oliver.

More than satisfied with her appearance, Felicity still had to giggle at all the green she wore. Oliver would have found it amusing. Grinning at the thought of his face if he saw, the IT expert headed down to the car with a swell of happiness rising in her. The drive to her prearranged destination was much too lengthy with her excitement bubbling up the way it was, but finally the place came into view.

And what a view it was.

Felicity gaped as she parked in front of a rather obscure wine shop boasting all of the most extravagant and expensive wines she had ever heard of. In her excitement, she had neglected to examine the location outside of the map she'd received. Snapping out of the shock, Felicity got out of the car slowly, a bag of her other Hanukkah gifts in hand.

Expecting Barry to appear at any moment, Felicity found her disappointment growing every step she took without any sight of him (or anyone) along the street. There were no cars, either.

The shop itself was not empty, however, as she noticed one customer standing at the counter. It should have frightened her, this strange setting, yet she didn't feel endangered; nor did anything feel amiss. Curious, Felicity headed inside the wine shop, a gentle bell tinkling above her head as the door slid inward.

Close as she now was to the other customer, Felicity found the cut of his hair, the shape of his body, and the formal grace of his posture all too familiar. But it just couldn't be…

"Oliver?" she said questioningly, unable to fully believe it.

But her boss and friend turned around to face her with a smile on his face, and the blonde nearly dropped her bag in shock.

"Hello, Felicity," he greeted her, voice low and warm.

"I… what are you… I don't—" Felicity tried to speak, tried to understand where she could have missed any signs that it was Oliver, not Barry, who had been so thoughtful and generous and sweet and secretive and sneaky…

"This last gift was the most difficult to find," Oliver offered, plainly deciding to temporarily ignore her speechlessness, the smile growing on his features. "I've actually been searching for it ever since we first discussed it. But I finally found it… Go on, open it."

Still gaping slightly, Felicity shook herself and turned towards the spot he gestured at, finding a piece of shimmering dark red fabric draped over what could only be a wine bottle. A matching tag had been tied around the neck, not printed as all the others, but handwritten in Oliver's most elegant script.

_~No scavenger hunt required.~_

In a daze, Felicity reached out with her free hand to pull away the tag and the lovely material. Falling away in one fluid mass, the fabric revealed not one, but _two_ bottles of Lafite Rothschild 1982.

"I promised you a bottle of Lafite," Oliver continued quietly, his eyes burning the side of her face with their intensity. "But as I remember, there were two offered in the… ah… 'scavenger hunt'… and I wouldn't want anyone else to have the privilege."

"Oliver," Felicity murmured, feelings tears build in her eyes as she turned to look up at his handsome face. "All those tags… the gifts… You remembered so many things, thought out so much. Things I never thought you would bother about."

"You remember a lot about the people you care about. Especially the person you… _care_ about the most," Oliver responded almost shyly, in contrast to his smoldering blue gaze. "Would you be that person, Felicity?"

There was no thinking to be done, really. Rumors could fester and people could stare, but she was done denying she cared about him. No man could do all of this, think so deeply about her wants and her interests and her personal experiences, without caring deeply and genuinely.

"I would love to be," Felicity whispered, a smile breaking through on her face and the bag in her hands slipping to the floor.

"Happy Hanukkah, Felicity," Oliver whispered in her ear, and it was without a single shred of disappointment that the blonde threw her arms around her gift-giver.

* * *

-The End-


End file.
